The Mirror Challenge

About 3 weeks ago, I decided to start a new habit. It seemed easy enough… too easy, actually. It takes about 1 minute each day, but it has been one of the most powerful things I have done for myself!

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I heard about a nightly practice that caught my attention. It was referred to as the Mirror Challenge and it had me intrigued. If you don’t know this yet, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve struggled with severe negative self-talk and limiting beliefs my entire life!There have been times where the negativity has consumed me to the point of a complete physical and emotional breakdown.

So, I was willing to try just about ANYTHING to get that negative self-talk out of my head!

The Mirror Challenge seemed easy enough but what REALLY had me intrigued was Jack Canfield saying he has done this every night for years. He said when he first started this practice it seemed strange but within about a month and a half, it had completely STOPPED his negative self-talk! What?! That is HUGE! This would literally revolutionize my life!

So I decided to give it a shot. What was I to lose? My husband and kids thinking I’m a nut case? (Check! They already do… so no harm, no foul!)

Here’s how it works. At the end of each night, I stand and look at myself in the mirror. Right in the eyeballs. I tell myself “thank you” or “I appreciate you” for doing whatever successful thing I did that day. At first, it felt weird and I totally didn’t believe myself. I thought I was faking it but I actually started noticing how I felt in my HEART instead of my head. I noticed that I DID try to do better. I noticed that, “HEY! I wasn’t all that bad, after all!”

Here are some things I have said to myself:

“Monique, I want to thank you for feeding the kids breakfast before 10:00am.”

“Monique, I appreciate that you are always striving to do better. You caught yourself being a grouch today, and that is something to be proud about. You are making progress.”

“Monique, you sure do love your husband and kids. They see that, and I appreciate your efforts to show them.”

“I appreciate you, Monique, for putting in the effort to take care of your household and for being responsible and paying your bills on time.”

Whatever success I have in the day, both big and small, I address it that night with myself. One of the most important things to do is, at the end of each session, tell yourself “I love you!” (Oh, come on… Just do it! Even if you have to fake it!)

If you can show yourself appreciation, you won’t depend on someone else to do it for you!

This has helped my marriage, as well…it has let my husband off the hook to notice all the little things I do each day. If you can’t start this practice for yourself, start it for your loved ones!

I have only done this for about 3 weeks now, and honest to God, about 75% or more of my negative self-talk has ended! I cannot even begin to tell you how incredible this practice is! So much, that I will be doing this for the rest of my life. I would LOVE to inspire someone to build this habit with me!

So that’s it! Easy peasy, right? WHO’S WITH ME?

Comment below, send me a message, share this idea, and let me know what it does for you!